Kaiba's Thanksgiving
by Asj Johnson
Summary: One shot about Kaiba on Thanksgiving. The question is, what does Kaiba have to be thankful for?


Yu-Gi-Oh! is created by Kazuki Takahashi. I'm only using his characters and placing them in a new setting.

* * *

Kaiba took a break from typing on his laptop and noticed the red "24" on the calendar.

_'Heh. Thanksgiving,' _he thought. _'I never really liked this holiday... It's about giving thanks and I don't have anything to be thankful for._

_'Should I be thankful for both of my parents dying before I reached the age of nine? Should I be thankful for the two years my brother and I spent at an orphanage, no one willing to adopt us?_

_'Sure, people might mention my company or my wealth... But I earned those things on my own. I don't have anyone to thank but _me_. If I hadn't convinced Gozaburo to adopt us, we might still be in that orphanage today. If there's such a thing as fate, it sure hates me for some reason... After being adopted, I thought I was gaining not only a good home, but a father and a future company as well. But no... those five years of my life were hell. Gozaburo didn't allow weakness of any kind. He made sure to teach me that. I had to be perfect at everything. I had to complete every task he assigned me... Maybe I should thank _him_; without his instruction, I wouldn't have become the success I am today. His lessons were actually his downfall. I was able to buy out the company from right under his nose. But now I'm being shunned for those same characteristics he has taught me. The only friend I have is my little brother, Mokuba._

_'My dream, to build theme parks for unfortunate children around the globe, is starting to come true. But again, I can only thank myself for that. Maybe those unlucky kids, like my brother and I once were, will have something to be thankful for, while I haven't._

_'Maybe if my parents were still alive, I would have something to be thankful for. But they aren't alive and I don't.'_

Mokuba walked into Kaiba's home office and Kaiba glanced up at the raven-haired boy.

"Seto, you shouldn't be working on Thanksgiving!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"And why not? It's a Thursday, isn't it?" Kaiba asked.

"Seto!..." Mokuba said and rolled his eyes. "C'mon, I want to show you the food the chefs are preparing!"

"Wait... Mokuba, you didn't tell them to fix a lot, did you?" Kaiba asked.

"I like seeing it all on the table!" Mokuba said with a big smile.

"You know we never even eat half of it," Kaiba said. But Mokuba already ran out of the room. Kaiba sighed and followed after him. Mokuba entered the kitchen as Kaiba reached the base of the stairs. The doorbell began to ring and a servant on the opposite side of the room stopped what he was doing.

"I have it," Kaiba said, being only a few feet from the door. The servant bowed to Kaiba gratefully and resumed his task. Kaiba opened the door to see Yugi standing on his doorstep.

"Yugi!" Kaiba said, surprised. "Why are _you_ here?"

"I just wanted to know if you would like to come to my house for Thanksgiving dinner." Yugi said sheepishly.

"Yugi, we're rivals!" Kaiba said.

"Yeah... but I still consider you my friend," Yugi told him. "So... will you come?"

"You think I would want to go to your place, when we'll end up throwing out most of our food the way it is? Our chefs have nearly all of the food prepared, now. I can't just tell them to forget about the whole thing," Kaiba told him. Yugi looked down sadly. "If anything, it would make more sense if _you_ came here, instead," Kaiba mentally kicked himself, having realized what he just said.

"You mean it, Kaiba?" Yugi asked, his eyes brightening.

"Well... only if you want to," Kaiba said and shrugged.

_'Yugi ended up inviting everyone he knew. Wheeler was slobbering all over the food and had to be taught how to use silverware. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I would have thought. The whole time, no one mentioned how cold-hearted or ruthless I am. I guess Yugi had convinced them not to for today. Either that or they are finally beginning to accept me. They said before that they would never forgive me, that what I did to Yugi's grandfather was beyond forgiveness. But after that happened, I changed. I guess Yugi helped me. As much as I would hate to admit it, Yugi allowed me get rid of Gozaburo once and for all._

_'That's one thing to be thankful for, isn't it? And I'm glad Mokuba didn't turn on me when I was confused. I treated him terrible, but he stayed by my side, anyhow. Yes; I'm thankful for Mokuba, too. Thankful that he'll always be there for me when I need him to be._

_'Being away from paperwork for a few hours wasn't too bad. I actually started to enjoy everyone's presence, even though I kept trying not to. It reminded me of the dinner parties Gozaburo used to host in order to promote Kaiba Corp. when I was a kid - only without the stiffs.'_

* * *

This was actually made for a Thanksgiving fanfiction contest on a forum I'm a member of.


End file.
